28. Cohen

“Hold steady!”

Paolo’s call echoed all the way down toward those of us at the bottom of the ladder. I clenched my jaw and held the hose tightly, feeling the cool gush of water through it that had far more strength than people expected it to have. My muscles ached as I maintained control, my head starting to hurt from the exertion.

“I see the police! They’re moving in on the cartel members inside!” Garrett shouted. “Just a little more. We have to keep them distracted and subdued!”

There was nothing like a strong blast of water to keep a man down. Not only would it feel like they were drowning, but who could stay focused while receiving a blast of water to the face?

I turned my head to glance toward the fire truck and make sure that everything was okay, but the sight of Zoe taking off across the parking lot after one of the cartel members nearly made me drop the hose. What the hell was she doing? Was she crazy?

“I have to get Zoe!” I shouted before letting go of the hose and climbing off the ladder.

Angus looked down at me like I was the crazy one.

“What? What’s going on?” he yelled down at me.

“She’s chasing one of the cartel members! I have to go get her!” I called back before whirling around and sprinting across the parking lot, blowing right past Tobin, who tried to limp his way out of the fire truck. “Zoe!”

When she disappeared around the corner behind a building, I pushed even harder, my breaths puffing in and out. Panic seeped into my very bones, my blood running cold when I heard her cry as I crossed the street.

I hurried around the corner, seeing the tall, lean cartel member pointing a handgun at her as she held her hands up.

“You did this to yourself!” the cartel member spat at her as he placed his finger on the trigger.

Zoe closed her eyes, preparing for the end.

My panic burned into pure, fiery anger, fueling my next movements as I ran at the guy. My shoulder hit the man’s side right as he noticed I was coming and turned to look at me, sending him flailing as he flew sideways away from Zoe.

I wasn’t done with him yet. Zoe pressed her back against the wall with wide eyes, watching me lunge at the cartel member. All I could think about was the exhaustion I felt from weeks of dealing with the fires that they set. The fear of losing Zoe to them.

They’d made everyone’s life hell, including mine.

With clenched teeth, I reached for the gun, grunting as me and the cartel member fought over it. He had a tighter grip, but I was more pissed off. I freed one of my hands and struck him in the face, stunning him enough for me to rip the gun from his hands and toss it to the side. As rage fired through me, I punched him three more times until my hand ached, and blood dripped from his nose and lip. Gripping his white t-shirt, I leaned closer to him.

“You’ll regret ever stepping foot in this town. You and your buddies are done,” I spat in his face before dragging him up to his feet. I grabbed his arm and wrenched it behind his back, forcing him to walk forward. “Let’s take him to the police.”

Zoe nodded and led the way, her eyes quickly flickering back and forth between me and the gym up ahead. Her concern made me smile a little, coupling with the satisfaction I already felt about dragging this bloodied cartel member along with me.

Blue and red lights danced up ahead as police officers threw cartel members into the back of their cruisers. Half of the firemen took care of putting up the hose, while the other half gave their reports to the police officers for further evidence. We wanted to take as much as we could to court to put these guys away for the maximum amount of time.

“Officer! Here’s one,” I called out to one of the police officers leaving the gym empty handed.

The police officer nodded to me and grabbed the man’s arm, shoving him forward to his police cruiser without even the slightest bit of sympathy in his eyes.

My heart pounded as the scene unfolded all around me. More than fifteen cartel members, who were mostly soaking wet, were dragged to the back of cruisers, never to return to this life of crime ever again.

“We did it,” I breathed out as I turned to Zoe, who had shocked tears in her eyes.

“She fought so hard for this. I just wish that she was here to see it,” Zoe told me as she hurried over to my side, throwing her arms around me.

I held her close, breathing in the scent of her hair and kissing her head. The memory of her cry of pain echoed in my mind, making me grimace and grip her even tighter. I never wanted to risk losing her again.

“Are you guys okay? What the hell happened?” Matty called out as he hurried over to us with Paolo, Gabe, Garrett, and Tobin, who still maintained a decent pace on his healing ankle.

“I saw one of the cartel members trying to make a run for it. I couldn’t let him escape,” Zoe explained before looking up at me. “When he attacked me, Cohen saved me and took him down.”

The admiration in her voice made me smile, my adrenaline continuing to race as I took in the situation. We were victorious.

“Hell yeah.” Matty laughed as he hugged us both. “We made the cartel our bitch!”

Paolo shook his head in amusement while the others chuckled. Everyone looked exhausted but thrilled as we gathered together, watching all of the cartel members in dripping clothes being hauled away.

After giving their statements, Jae, Kieran, Kit, and Angus made their way over to us, hugging Zoe and bumping their fists against ours. Now that we were truly all in a group, the energy was undeniable. We were a family.

We fought together. Worked together. Experienced all sorts of things together.

“Your mom would be proud,” Paolo told Zoe.

Zoe gave him a grateful look.

“I want to say that I’m proud of all you,” she expressed as her eyes shifted to every single one of us. She remained tight against my side, her free hand holding Kit’s as he stood close to her other side. “You’re some of the bravest people that I know, and I wouldn’t have been able to finish this case without you.”

“We couldn’t have done it without you too,” Garrett pointed out as he crossed his arms. “I think we all needed each other.”

No one had ever spoken truer words.

Jae nudged Angus and Tobin.

“We were meant to be a team,” he insisted with a grin.

Pride swelled in my chest as I watched everyone smile at each other and nod. Some of us were new to the crew, and others had been around for years. The timing didn’t matter, though. We were family regardless.

“So, what happens now?” Kieran asked.

Zoe took a deep breath.

“I have a story to write,” she told us, excitement sparking in her eyes. “The best story I’ve ever written.”

“We can’t wait to read it,” I said as I rubbed her upper arm, sharing a warm expression with her.

But every story came to an end. Was this the end of ours?